Life-Saving Power of Apple Watch: UK Man Credits Device for Alerting Him of Undiagnosed Heart Condition
London, March 11
A UK-based man has credited Apple Watch for pointing medics toward an undiagnosed heart condition.
Author Adam Croft, 36, from Flitwick in Bedfordshire, UK, awoke to find his Apple device had been alerting him throughout the night that his heart was in Atrial fibrillation, reports BBC.
"It's not a feature I'd ever expected to use," he was quoted as saying.
In an interview, Croft said that he had got up from the sofa one evening and "felt a bit dizzy" but when he got to the kitchen to get some water he "immediately felt the world closing in."
"I managed to get down on the floor and ended up in a pool of cold sweat," he said.
The next morning, he woke to find that his watch had been alerting him every couple of hours that his heart was in a rhythm known as Atrial fibrillation -- and that he should seek medical attention.
"I called 111 (UK medical helpline) who said get to hospital within the hour," Croft said.
Additional testing at Bedford Hospital in the UK confirmed that Croft was in Atrial fibrillation. Croft claims he would not have gone to the hospital if he hadn't received an alert from his Apple Watch, the report said.
Moreover, the writer claimed to have previously experienced "little flutterings" of the heart that his watch had missed, but these had not occurred in months.
He had also "never had any pain or symptoms that I thought were serious."
The report said that after testing confirmed the Atrial fibrillation, doctors put Croft on blood thinners.
He will now undergo a cardioversion procedure, which involves the use of "quick, low-energy shocks to restore a regular heart rhythm."
Croft concluded, saying: "The watch will be staying on now."
--IANS